Unveiling George Lucas' Forgotten Masterpiece Before Star Wars

George Lucas is most famous for creating the Star Wars franchise, but his success with Star Wars would not have been possible without the overwhelming popularity of his nostalgic comedy American Graffiti. Released in 1973, American Graffiti received unanimous praise from critics and became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. Even today, it is considered a timeless classic. However, despite its universal acclaim, American Graffiti was overshadowed by the historic, game-changing success of Star Wars. Similar to Star Wars, American Graffiti is seen as the definitive film in its genre. While Star Wars is known as the definitive space opera and action-adventure, American Graffiti is renowned as the definitive ensemble hangout comedy.

The film is set in Lucas' hometown of Modesto, California in 1962, when Lucas himself was 18 years old. American Graffiti captures the essence of a time in people's lives when they are filled with hope and endless possibilities for their futures. It showcases the booming cruising and rock 'n' roll cultures that were popular at the time, featuring classic cars and a soundtrack filled with hits by legendary artists like Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and the Beach Boys. Unlike Star Wars, which follows a traditional plot and is recognized as an example of the "monomyth," American Graffiti has a more relaxed and meandering structure. It consists of a series of loosely connected vignettes that revolve around a diverse group of high schoolers seeking adventure and fun on the last night of their summer vacation.

American Graffiti Was George Lucas' First Box Office Hit

Lucas' most significant contribution to the box office will always be Star Wars' groundbreaking success in theaters. Surpassing Jaws, Star Wars became the highest-grossing film ever and popularized the term "blockbuster" due to the immense demand, with audiences waiting in long lines to watch it. Over the past fifty years, studios have been striving to replicate the success of Star Wars by creating their own speculative intellectual properties and narratives centered around the hero's journey. However, prior to Star Wars, Lucas achieved his first box office hit with American Graffiti. Although it didn't have the same transformative impact on film history as Star Wars, it still had an impressive theatrical run. Despite being produced with a meager budget of only $777,000, American Graffiti became one of the most profitable movies ever made, earning $140 million at the global box office (via The Numbers).

If American Graffiti had not exceeded expectations and become a surprise hit, Lucas may not have been able to convince a Hollywood studio to take a risk on his peculiar space-themed movie inspired by Flash Gordon. Lucas' friend and producing partner Francis Ford Coppola gave him the task of writing a script that would appeal to a mainstream audience. Typically, writing with the intention of making a hit rarely succeeds, but Lucas' script turned out to be precisely what audiences wanted to see. In Marcus Hearn's book The Cinema of George Lucas, Lucas is quoted as saying, "Cruising was gone, and I felt compelled to document the whole experience and what my generation used as a way of meeting girls." To Lucas' surprise, individuals from his generation, known as the "Silent Generation," between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, shared the same sentiment and yearned to revisit that phase of their lives on the silver screen.

American Graffiti Remains The Quintessential Hangout Comedy

Content: Star Wars revolutionized the space adventure genre, but before its arrival, American Graffiti became the ultimate hangout comedy. Focusing more on emotions and attitudes rather than intricate plotlines and character development, Lucas' groundbreaking work in American Graffiti became a blueprint for filmmakers across the globe to immortalize their teenage years on the silver screen. This movie's nostalgic lens, capturing the essence of a bygone era, influenced freewheeling comedies like Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused and Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza. A pioneer in recognizing the power of nostalgia, Lucas predated Stand by Me and Stranger Things in exploring this theme. Similar to Linklater's '90s comedy invoking nostalgia for the '70s, Lucas' '70s comedy evokes nostalgia for the '60s.

Featuring a talented ensemble cast that includes renowned actors Richard Dreyfuss, Mackenzie Phillips, Ron Howard (credited as Ronny Howard), and even Harrison Ford in one of his earliest film roles, American Graffiti seamlessly weaves together their antics. The film owes its smooth editing to two legendary editors in the industry: Verna Fields, known as the "mother cutter," famous for editing Jaws and What's Up, Doc?, and Marcia Lucas, Lucas' then-wife who won an Oscar for editing the original Star Wars movie.

From beginning to end, American Graffiti is an undisputed masterpiece. It's a must-watch for those who appreciate lighthearted and breezy comedies, harbor a nostalgic affinity for '60s Americana, or simply wish to witness where Lucas honed his filmmaking skills before venturing off to a galaxy far, far away.